Semiconductor devices are used in many electronic and other applications. Semiconductor devices comprise integrated circuits that are formed on semiconductor wafers by depositing many types of thin films of material over the semiconductor wafers, and patterning the thin films of material to form the integrated circuits.
There is a demand in semiconductor device technology to integrate many different functions on a single chip, e.g., manufacturing analog and digital circuitry on the same die. In such applications, many different components such as digital and analog or RF circuitry are integrated into a single chip. However such integration creates additional challenges that need to be overcome. For example, integration of multiple components results in interference between various components. RF circuitry operating at high frequencies produces extraneous electromagnetic radiation that interferes with the operation of other components in the integrated system on chip. This problem deteriorates with subsequent technology generations as operating frequencies continually increase and distances on the chips decrease. Aggressive integration of multiple components in a single chip requires the need to eliminate such interference without a significant increase in production costs.